Within a vehicle the position of a vehicle seat can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device comprising guide rails, an upper guide rail being slidably arranged on a lower guide rail such that the vehicle seat connected to the upper guide rail can be adjusted in its longitudinal position within the vehicle by sliding the upper guide rail along the lower guide rail for example connected to a vehicle floor.
An adjustment device of this kind may for example comprise a spindle fixed to a first of the guide rails and being in operative connection with a gearing fixed to a second of the guide rails. The gearing for example comprises a spindle nut driven by an electric drive device such that by rotating the spindle nut with respect to the spindle the gearing (and together with the gearing the second guide rail) can be moved longitudinally along the spindle.
The guide rails of the adjustment device hence are held in position with respect to each other via the gearing being in operative connection with the spindle. The gearing herein is fixed to the second guide rail such that forces can be transferred from the gearing to the second guide rail and from the second guide rail to the vehicle seat in order to adjust the position of the vehicle seat.
To be able to transfer forces between the guide rails in order to adjust the longitudinal seat position and also to securely hold the vehicle seat in place in case of abnormal loads, for example in case of a vehicle crash, the spindle needs to be reliably fastened to the first guide rail. Typically, this is achieved by means of holding devices in the shape of metal holding brackets, which for example may be welded or riveted to the first guide rail, for example to a base of the first guide rail such that via the holding devices a fixation of the spindle with respect to the first guide rail is established. This type of attachment typically requires multiple parts and adds to the assembly process, the cycle time and the cost of the product.